1. Field
Disclosed is an flow connector for use in the filtration area, more particularly in the water filtration area, and even more particularly in the area of filtering water supplied to commercial establishments.
2. Description of the Related Art
Certain embodiments of lug-type filtration sumps having planar endcaps are disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0000833, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Such sumps provide a number of benefits, including ease of replacement (the sump can be removed by simply twisting the sump slightly relative to the purification head, without the need for wrenches or specialized tools), disposability (the sump can be made entirely of disposable plastic, and does not require an external shell of expensive aluminum or stainless steel), sanitary replacement (the sump is entirely self-contained, so that technicians need not come into contact with the internal filtration media), and improved leak resistance.
However, the use of the lug-type filtration sump described above requires installation of a filtration head assembly that is capable of receiving the sump in a way that provides good liquid flow rates through the device, does not leak, and is dimensionally and vibrationally stable, so that the adverse effects of water-hammer and other pressure variations are reduced or eliminated. Unfortunately, there are a large number of legacy filtration equipment that is not capable of using the disposable lug-type filtration sump, because the filtration head assembly is adapted to receive and retain a sump via a threaded connection, more particularly, because the filtration head assembly connects to the sump via a screw-type connection provided by, e.g., a threaded opening in the filtration head assembly and a corresponding threaded projection on the outside of the sump.
These legacy filtration systems exhibit can be difficult to service, because of stresses imposed on the threads due to pressurization of the system, thermal coefficient of expansion mismatches, and incorrect installation, so that wrenches or other tools are required to separate the sump from the filtration head assembly. Damage to the threads or to O-rings within the sump or filtration head assembly that result from incorrect installation or water hammer effects of pressure variation in the water supply system also occur with some frequency with threaded systems.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a way to connect a lug-type sump to a legacy, screw-type filtration head assembly that provides a water tight connection and leak-proof flow paths between the filtration head assembly and the lug-type sump, and which allows the advantages of the lug-type sump to be realized with legacy screw-type filtration head assemblies.